Smart Meters

Only a few years back, we hadn’t heard of the concept ‘smart meter’ but now it is a common subject of conversation and not in a positive way. Here, you will find some answers about what they are,what problems they present and what Geovital’s approach to them is. We hope this helps you and if it makes sense, please comment, rate it, refer others to this website and please sign up for our newsletter here.

What is a smart meter and why do power companies want one on your house?

The idea behind a smart meter is that it gives the power companies advanced capabilities which are beneficial for them but tend to have no benefits for you. Rather, the effects are much more negative in relation to price increases, privacy issues, health issues and if sources are correct — in the future your power supplier will be able to shut down your appliances.

A smart meter is a digital meter that replaces the spinning disc meter in your meter box that measures how much power is being used in the house.

  • It collects data about your electricity usage throughout the day and is said to be able to distinguish between the usage of different appliances (privacy issue) and certainly monitor when you leave the house or go on holidays.
  • It uses high frequency radiation to communicate the collected data to the other smart meters in the street; the one with the strongest signal to the base communicates this back to the power company.
  • It enables power companies to vary the time range of peak and off-peak rates, based on daily changes of usage in the community. This tends to result in a power bill increase, even doubling in some cases.
  • It will enable power companies to offer new power ‘plans’ where the customer agrees to use power at certain times of day over other times, which aims to reduce peak usage.
  • Technology has already been developed which will be built into appliances like an air conditioning unit, for example. The Smart Meter will be able to turn appliances off for you when you use them outside the agreed allowable times. (very ‘Big Brother’, some would say)

 

Negative effects for the home owner / resident

  • woman affected by radiation sick on the bed

    Many people ring us not feeling so great within 4 weeks of smart meter installation

    Health: The high frequency radiation that is produced by the smart meter in your home (or the ones down the street) seems to be ‘the straw that breaks the camel’s back’ for those who have developed a sensitivity to electronic radiation. There is a lot of high and low frequency radiation present in the modern home due to inside and outside sources and people are exposed to it daily–this is before Geovital Academy shielding solutions, of course. The addition of the smart meter just seems to tip the balance of health. Therefore, radiation shielding should focus not only on the smart meter, but on all radiation sources if long-term benefits are to be achived.

  • Privacy: The smart meter has been compared to a surveillance system, having the ability to monitor what you are doing at any time throughout the day. This data is collected by a private company, which may be tempted to sell this information. Or, a hacker could steal this data.
  • Bill increases: Often, the cost of these new meters has been included in power bills years before the installation, so you are paying for the meter as well as the often significantly higher power bills, due to the dynamic ability the supplier now has of charging for your power.
  • Vulnerability: The power company can disconnect your power very easily and quickly from afar, either intentionally or by mistake. In theory, so could anybody else who puts their mind to it. Concerns have been raised that hackers, or even terrorists, could deactivate entire cities or states if each property is able to be disabled by a radio signal.

What can I do if one is installed?

There are two important things we are trying to educate people about:

  1. You are affected by more than just the smart meter (see research links). You may not show symptoms, or a smart meter may have caused symptoms by tipping the balance of health. Nevertheless, all sources of radiation should be addressed and this is easy to do. Focussing on the smart meter alone, may bring short-term improvement but it leaves you open to increased likelihood of long-term problems.
  2. Applying shielding incorrectly, for example on one interior wall only, may successfully deflect away radiation from a single smart meter. But as shielding functions as a mirror, the one wall will (by deflection) double exposure to any high frequency radiation sources entering the room. This could occur for example, if there were 24 other smart meters in the street and any number of mobile phone towers having their signals deflected off the shielded wall back into the room. It could all add up to the occupants being exposed to high levels of HF radiation as a result of incorrect shielding.